TASEmulators / TASEmulators/BizHawk

Feature Request: Load CDs fully into memory

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App: EmuHawk Request: Feature/Enhancement
Dominant language
C#
Stars
2.8k
Forks
468
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

https://github.com/TASVideos/BizHawk/issues/2674

Summary

When loading CDs from hard drives, the hard drive will eventually spin down (possibly every few minutes). This causes 10+ seconds of stuttering while the emulator waits for the hard drive to spin back up.

This can be resolved by fully loading the CD into RAM.

Zeromus recommends that this should not be fixed, but instead should be an optional setting.

Recommendation
  1. Create an Option in the settings menu to load CDs into memory.
  2. Make that option the default for desktop builds (I'm assuming the reason we don't want it always on is for mobile builds with low RAM).
  3. Consider setting the option automatically based on system resources available

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing CD loading and the settings menu, then inspect how desktop and mobile builds handle available memory. Define the optional in-memory loading behavior and its default across builds, including how system resources affect the choice. Done means the setting works without causing unacceptable memory use or CD-loading stutter.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
csharp
Domain
desktop, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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